Shoebox
by whohasamonkey
Summary: [Oneshot] Sometimes the transition from the past into the future is unexpected. For Sakura, she would have technically waited forever for the future to come. AU, KakaSaku


**Shoebox**

**Spoilers:** Not really, unless you didn't know about Kakashi's team.

**Pairings: **Kakashi and Sakura

I really don't know why I wrote this. It just kinda came to me. I purposely wrote it so that I wouldn't have to write any names. I don't know why I wanted it that way, I just did. There were a few parts where I couldn't avoid putting in a name, so yeah.

Anyway it's kinda morbid, at least I think it is. .

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He was everything she never knew she wanted. Loving, caring, devoted, romantic, talented. He was the pride of the village. Known throughout the land. And he was all hers. In private, he was just a normal man. He liked to sleep in, and stay up late. He loved scrambled eggs and chocolate chip pancakes. He owned very little, but what he did own had a story. And she loved all his things and all his stories.

She loved him.

He was her everything. He was there for her when her teammates left her. One for revenge, the other to fulfill his promise to her. It had been years since she'd seen them. She wished he had broken his promise to her. He'd be here, at home. Happy. She was so alone for so long. Then he came to her.

It had started out with something so innocent she hadn't thought twice about it. He was going on a mission and he wanted her to apartment sit. She agreed to do it, although she didn't know why he needed someone to apartment sit. But she did it anyway. He said his mission wouldn't take more than five days. And with that he left.

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Sunday

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When she arrived at his apartment she realized she had never really been inside before. She knew where he lived, but had never walked through the door before. He had one room. That one room held his bed, a small desk and a vanity. His bathroom was small and only held the bare necessitates. Above his headboard he had two pictures and a plant. It took her some time but she eventually found a cup she could use to water the plant. Kneeling on the bed to get closer to the plant she noticed three things. One was the plant was actually named Mr. Ukki. Two was that he seriously needed a new mattress. Lastly she noticed that one of the pictures on the headboard was of him as a child with his team. She almost dropped the cup when she saw who his sensei was. He was a student of the 4th. The other two people in the picture she had never seen before.

She giggled when she looked at him in the picture. He looked so cocky and adorable all at once. After watering the plant, she decided she'd come back tomorrow and clean his one room.

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Monday

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She started off by dusting and scrubbing the floor. The area around the vanity was the worst. There were old bloodstains on the floor. It made her heart sink. How many times had he cleaned and wrapped his own wounds in this very spot?

As she cleaned she found a shoebox under the bed, but she didn't open it. Instead she put it aside and continued to clean.

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Tuesday

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She tried to wash his sheets and blanket but was completely horrified when they fell apart in the washer. It took her the entire day to find a shop that made a blanket with the same shuriken pattern as his old one. While at the shop she looked around at their selection of sheets. She ended up buying him the best sheets she could find. The blanket would be ready in a few days.

But when she got back to his place, she realized that new sheets on an old mattress wouldn't work.

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Wednesday

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She threw out the old mattress, which wasn't that difficult considering he had somehow worn off all the padding and some of the springs. After looking around, she eventually bought him the most comfortable mattress she could find. She made sure to be extra careful bringing into his apartment.

With the new sheets the bed looked very inviting.

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Thursday

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She spent the day getting the apartment ready for his return. She watered the plant again. As she went to put the shoebox under the bed, temptation got the best of her and she opened the lid. Inside was a three prong kunai, a pair of black goggles, and an old medical kit. She didn't really understand the objects, but they must have meant something to him for him to keep them.

As she put the lid back on the box she realized she had seen the goggles before. The boy in the picture had worn the same goggles. Realization hit her like a ton of bricks. These things must have belonged to his old teammates. As she put the shoebox under the bed she felt the tears coming.

That night she slept on his bed clutching his pillow.

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Friday

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Waking up with a start, she ran out of the apartment and picked up his new blanket. Then she waited. She wanted to be there when he got home. She wasn't really sure why though. She hadn't done it before. It never really mattered before. Did she want to explain the new bed? Was it so she could heal his wounds? Or was it just because she wanted to see him again? She had been distant since her teammates had left her. That was her own doing though. She needed time alone to think. But was it really fair to him?

She waited all day and he didn't come. That night it started to rain, and yet he didn't come home. For the second night she slept on his bed.

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Saturday

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She did nothing but wait. She didn't eat or leave. She just waited. And just like the day before he didn't come home. She began to fear the worse. But then she reminded herself that he was always late.

That settled her heart, at least for the moment.

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Sunday

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When she woke up he was standing at his vanity, shirtless, but with his mask still on. In front of him was a new shoebox. She called his name and when he turned she started crying. He had a gash on his chest and a bloody wrap on his right forearm. He looked tired and defeated, yet he smiled at her. Even through the mask she could read his emotions. Did he even know he was that easy to read?

She quickly got up and started to tend to his wounds. Neither said anything, not knowing what to say. When she was done her eyes wandered to the vanity and the new shoebox. He followed her gaze but said nothing.

"I saw the one under the bed. I didn't mean to open it and look inside. I'm sorry."

Wordlessly he went to retrieve the box under the bed. He opened the lid and took out the items.

"This kunai was given to me by my sensei when I was promoted to jounin. Rin gave this kit to me on that same day. And these goggles belonged to Obito. When I was 18 Rin gave me the plant. She died the next day on a mission. All three of them are dead now and this is all I have left of them."

As she moved toward him, he got up and moved toward the vanity. He picked up the new box and motioned for her to sit on the bed. She sat down and he sat next to her. He placed the new shoebox in her lap. When she opened the lid she felt like someone sucked the life out of her.

Inside were two forehead protectors, one with black fabric the other with a slash across the middle. There were also black arm clasps and a green frog change bag. These items belonged to them, her teammates. If he was making a shoebox for them, that could only mean…

"He finally found him. Their fight must have been long and difficult. When I found them Sasuke was clutching Naruto. Naruto had a smile on his face. Sasuke was on the verge of tears. Naruto told me he fulfilled his promise to you. He had brought Sasuke back, back from the darkness. Then he closed his eyes. Sasuke followed him shortly after. They were together as friends in the end."

She broke down. They were gone. All gone. He took the box and placed it on the floor.

"You won't leave me right Kakashi. I can't handle loosing anyone else. You are all I have left."

"You are all I have left as well."

She threw her arms around his neck and cried. He smelled like dirt, blood and sweat. But it was the sweetest thing ever, because he was alive. He was no longer going to be alone, like she had been. She now understood his pain. His students were gone except for her. She was all that remained of a happier time, and he was all that remained of her childhood. Together they could try to hold on to the past.

But she knew how it all turned out; somehow they had moved from the past into the future.


End file.
